Pseudotaenia salamandra ( Thomson, 1879 )

Bellamy, C. L., 2006, Studies on the Australian Chalcophorini: a new genus for Chalcophora subfasciata Carter, 1916 and a review of the Pseudotaenia Kerremans, 1903 generic-group (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), Zootaxa 1206 (1), pp. 23-46 : 32-33

Pseudotaenia salamandra ( Thomson, 1879)

(Figure 1)

Chalcotaenia salamandra Thomson 1879 : clviii.

Chalcophora salamandra: Kerremans 1885: 127 ; Neervoort van de Poll 1886: 222; Kerremans 1892: 43; 1900: 286.

Chalcophora salamandri: Masters 1886: 70 .

Pseudotaenia salamandra: Kerremans 1903: 81 ; 1909: 94; Obenberger 1926: 146; Carter 1929: 300; Hołyṅski 1993: 21; Bellamy 2002: 56.

Chalcotaenia vittata Waterhouse 1881: 462 .

Chalcophora vittata: Kerremans 1885: 128 ; Neervoort van de Poll 1886: 222 (synonym of salamandra ); Masters 1886: 70; Kerremans 1892: 43; Barnard 1890: 179; Kerremans 1900: 286 (synonym of salamandra ); Froggatt 1907: 163.

Pseudotaenia vittata: Kerremans 1903: 81 ; 1909: 94; Obenberger 1926: 146 (synonym of salamandra ); Carter 1929: 300; Bellamy 2002: 56.

Type locality. salamandra —“ Australia ”; vittata —“ Queensland.”

Specimens examined.. 1 ♂, Queensland, Duaringa [ BBS, S23° 42' 59.0" E149° 40' 19.4", elevation 96m] ; 1 ♀, Coshall , Queensland, i.1967 ; 1 ♂, Queensland (all CLBC) .

Biology/Bionomy. Barnard (1890) discussed this species eating the leaves of Casuarina . Mark Hanlon (in litt.) wrote: “ P. salamandra appears to associate with Casuarina as an adult host, though I am aware it has mainly been collected on eucalypt leaves by recent collectors (sympatric with P. ajax ). I have collected extensively around the Duaringa area and adjacent to the property mentioned by Barnard. The dominant Casuarina species by far is C. cristata F.Muell. ex Miq. , commonly known as ‘belah’. Also in the area is C. cunninghamiana Miq. which grows along creek lines and also there may be Allocasuarina leuhmannii (R.T. Baker) L.A.S. Johnson which is more commonly found further west near Dingo (I have not found it in the vicinity of Duaringa). An adult female emerged 23 February 2001 from a billet of Acacia harpophylla ('Brigalow') (new larval host record) collected on 16 January 2000, 55 km W of Emerald [ BBN, S23° 36' 00.8" E147° 38' 45.2", elevation 283m], Qld. The brigalow billet was cut from dying standing tree approximately 12 meters high by Michael Powell and myself. Billet taken was approximately 3.5 metres in length cut from 40 cm above ground level. The billet diameter was 13 cm at the base and 10 cm at the tip and was cut into 3 pieces each approximately a metre in length. The specimen emerged from piece that would have been the equivalent of about 2 metres from the ground. There was evidence of old emergence holes in the wood already and several larval tunnels at the ends of the cut billets. Habitat was mixed Brigalow and eucalypt closed woodland in a gully. Also present was Casuarina cristata . This species and P. ajax have been collected several times in recent years from the leaves of Eucalyptus populnea ("poplar box" or "bimble box") in mixed brigalow/eucalypt woodland in the Springsure/ Clermont district.”

Remarks. This synonymy has been accepted since Neervoort van de Poll (1886). The types of this species ( salamandra MNHN ) and its junior synonym ( vittata BMNH ) have not been examined for this project.